A former North Texas police officer has been sentenced to three consecutive life prison terms after investigators said they discovered more than 300 videos and images depicting the sexual abuse of children, according to a statement from the district attorney for Johnson and Somervell counties.
Daniel Joseph Bates, a former officer with the Itasca Police Department, was convicted Wednesday of possession of child pornography and online solicitation of a minor after a civilian decoy operation led authorities to him, District Attorney Timothy Good said in a statement shared with News Media.
The Texas Rangers arrested Bates after an adult decoy, posing online as a 15-year-old girl, reported that Bates had been communicating with someone he believed was underage, according to the statement.
After the civilian notified police about the communications, Rangers secured a search warrant for Bates’ digital devices. Investigators allegedly found more than 300 images showing minor children being sexually abused, the statement said.
Daniel Joseph Bates, who was convicted Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, of possession of child pornography and online solicitation of a minor. (Office of the District Attorney Timothy M. Good Johnson & Somervell Counties)
“The images and videos that had to be processed and presented to the jury are indescribable in the level of depravity they depict and the degree of deviance of the defendant who voluntarily possessed and viewed those types of images,” Good said in the statement.”
“Daniel Bates disgraced his badge and violated his oath and became the monster that he was sworn to protect the community from. Our community is safer with Bates serving three consecutive life sentences.”
Johnson & Somervell Counties District Attorney Timothy M. Good, who prosecuted Bates’ case. (Office of the District Attorney Timothy M. Good Johnson & Somervell Counties)
Bates testified that the child pornography in his possession was part of a secret investigation he was conducting into human traffickers, but prosecutors disputed that.
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Bates was only a reserve police officer and, at the time of his arrest, was working highway construction security, according to authorities.
“Bates was unable to substantiate his claims that he was conducting an official police investigation,” the statement read.
Bates reportedly told the person he was communicating with that, because he was a police officer, he carries a gun at all times. This prompted Arlind Queriman, a civilian who creates video content in which he exposes people who try to solicit minors for sex, to contact authorities, according to FOX 4 Dallas.
“Some people say we’re vigilantes. Vigilantes beat up these people. I hand everything over to law enforcement,” Queriman told FOX 4.
Former police Officer Daniel Bates’ most recent mugshot (Johnson County Sheriff’s Office)
Bates also attempted to use his status as a reserve police officer to get out of the charges.
“He actually tried to play the badge thing,” Good told FOX 4.
“The badge was supposed to be a shield for children — not a shield for a predator. He made his choices. The jury made its verdict. And the judge made sure his next choice will be made from a prison cell for the rest of his life,” Assistant District Attorney Christy May said via the statement shared with News Media.
The three life sentences for child pornography possession are accompanied by a 40-year sentence for solicitation of a minor, according to the statement.
News Media contacted Itasca Police Department for further comment.